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Friday, June 7, 2013

Free Fitness? It's out there!

As some of you know, I recently began working in a different city than the one where I live. My new commute is about 60 miles each way which means a lot of my time is spent in the car. As a result I am funneling a lot of my money toward gas and spending many more hours away from home. One of my biggest concerns with this new situation was how I would find the time to maintain my workouts and how I'd manage to do it on my new budget.

I spent some time searching the internet and stumbled upon a website for a greenway program in my new work city called Tuesdays at the Trailhead. Every Tuesday from May through September the local YMCA is offering a different free fitness workout located outdoors at the greenway trailhead. I am often timid to try something new on my own but my curiosity was greater than my fear. I showed up on a random Tuesday after work and ended up being one among roughly 30 people who came for the free workout. I talked to some women around my age, one of whom has a similarly long commute but in the opposite direction. She gave me some great tips about a local rideshare program that I may look into.

This particular workout ended up being a circuit and there were stations set up with jump ropes, resistance bands, and others for body weight exercises like pushups and jump squats. We all completed the circuit once and then went for a half-mile run. Upon returning we completed a second circuit, walked a half-mile and then did some ab work. It was an amazing one-hour workout and best of all it didn't cost me a thing! By the time we had finished I had missed any rush hour traffic and gotten my workout in before my inevitable post-commute "I'm exhausted" faceplant.

I returned this Tuesday for the free Zumba workout and had just as much fun as I did the first time. I love that there are a variety or workouts being offered because I tend to get bored with routine. This opportunity really couldn't have come at a better time both because of my new work situation and also because I just came off of a high volume running season. I ran three half-marathons over the course of 71 days and while I had an absolute blast I did end up feeling a little burnt out on running. I am planning to spend my summer months focusing more on overall fitness and then buckle down for a strong fall race season.In addition to Tuesdays at the Trailhead I learned that my new work city also has similar free fitness classes in a park downtown on Mondays and Wednesdays! I am not able to make all three days every week but I definitely plan to experiment with some of those workouts too. How incredible is that for local folks? Three days of free fitness every week for 5 months... I just think this is the most amazing program ever! A friend of mine also alerted me to the fact that our local Lululemon store offers free yoga every Sunday. So guess what I'll be trying out this Sunday?!To give you an idea of my workouts this week, let me break it down for you:Sunday - My friend's CrossFit bootcamp offered a FREE "bring a friend" classMonday - RestTuesday - FREE ZumbaWednesday - Core Strength class (I pay for this ~ $10/class)Thursday - Zumba (~$5/class)Friday - RestSaturday - Long run (breaks down to ~$4/run based on group membership)Sunday - FREE yogaSo over the course of eight days I will have completed six workouts for approximately $19. Not bad! And if I had run on Monday and Friday rather than rested, that would still be free because I'd simply lace up my shoes and hit the neighborhood roads. My point here is to illustrate that these opportunities are out there if you look hard enough. I know a lot of people are fortunate to have gym memberships or other amenities but right now that is just not in the cards for me and I know there are others in similar situations. Don't use your circumstances as an excuse to slack off!

Do you know of any free fitness classes or gatherings in your area?

Please feel free to share below so others can take advantage of these awesome opportunities!

Wow, that sounds great! Amazing find! I will have to see if where I live offers anything like that. I found your blog from #runchat. I love your about me section. Especially the 2nd thing you want as a result. Don't we all want that?

Hi, I'm bang!
I started my weight loss journey in 2008 and still consider myself a work-in-progress. Along the way I've discovered a love of running and, most recently, lifting. My goal is to challenge myself by trying new things, and to uncover a fitter, healthier, happier me. What I lack in experience, I
make up for in passion. I am committed to change.